put in the detailed footnote info here cue for a same document link here cue for a different document link hereAction Research
In an introductory article on action research, Mark Smith says that there are two streams leading into current practice of Action research. The British stream centers in education and tends more towards reflective action for professional development purposes, while the American stream, started by Kurt Levin in 1947, tends more towards social change and locuses in social and community work.A study done to tease out minimal components of the approach indicate that there are two:
- dual emphasis on research and action
- a reflective component in the spiral activity of research and action
The key idea is that people integrate research activities into their daily professional activities and feed the results back into those activities so that the overall performance of the profession is enhanced and/or the quality of life of the people with which the person(s) work is enhanced.
Although this objective tends to be met by people who prefer teamwork and qualitative data, these are, in fact, options. (re-)presentation also take on a variety of less formal formats like portfolios and letters or no write-up at all as is noted in this huge British study of action-research praxis in the health care field, these too, are options chosen by particular practitioners. The fact that it is so prevalent in the educational and social work fields has meant it has been a particular choice of those who prefer to increase the level of "participative" component in as many areas of their work as possible. That is, they seek to involve the people (students and clients) in their definition of investigative team.
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